Dry closet



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUOIAIT B. ROBE, OF CINCINNATI, OIIIO.

DRY CLOSET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.1365,202. dated June 21,1887.

Application filed January 10, 1.087.

To all whom, 'it may concern:

Bc it known that I, LUCIAN D. Rohn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton, State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Dry Closets, of whichthe following is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

My invention comprises a novel structure wherewith human excrcmcnts canbe economically and effeetually disposed of without the annoyancesincidental to the use either of water or earth closets, the preferredarrangement of said structure being, briefly, as follows: An oven ordrying-receptacle is built in the lower part of a house, and usually inthe cellar, Said oven being of such a capacity as to contain theexcrements that may accumulate for several months, or a longer period oftime, if desired, the excremcnts being discharged into this receptaclethrough vertical soil-pipes that lead directly up into rooms or closets.The upper ends of these soil-pipes are provided with seats, to whichordinary lids are hinged, said lids being free from valveoperatingdevices or other complicated and expensive appliances, in order that thesimple opening of these hinged covers will afford a free andunobstructed dropping of the excrements down said pipes and directlyinto the receptacle at the hase of the structure or apparatus.Furthermore, the oven has a special shaft, the upper end of whichprojects above the building, so as to secure the most completeventilation, this withdrawal of the foul air being rendered morethorough by connecting one or more stove-pipcs to said shaft, thekitchen stove-pipe being preferred, because of its almost constant use.Small lateral flues connect the soil-pipes with the Ventilatingshaft,which flues may be provided with dampers or regulators, and when theoven is sufficiently vfilled with excrements these dampers areopened,and afirc is then built in said oven and is kept up until itscontents are sufficiently dried or consumed, so as to be readily removedwithout creating a nuisance, as hereinafter more fully described.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is a vertical section through a houseprovided with my preferred arrangement of dry closets. Figs. 2 and 3 areVertical sections of modifications of my invention. Fig. 4. is auenlarged Serial No. 223,959. (No model.)

section through the flue that leads from the upper soil-pipe into theVentilating-shaft of the oven.

A represents the cellar, basement, or other lower portion of a house,and B C D are npper rooms or closets of the same, said cellar having anoven, E, in it, which oven is usually built of masonry. The exactcapacity of this oven is immaterial, but it is preferred to make itsufficiently large to contain all the excrements that may accumulate fora number of months, or for a year or more, if desired.

F is a grating or perforated plate upon which the excrements aredeposited, and beneath this grating a bed of sand, G, is placed toabsorb the urine.

c c are the fircdoors of the oven, and II I J are soil-pipes leadingfrom the latter' up into the respective rooms or closets B CD, theupperends ofsaid p-ipes having seats h z'j, covered with hinged lids l1. fij.These soil-pipes are preferably of brick, and have near their seatssmall flues K, which allow all odors from said pipes to escape into theVentilating-shaft L. This shaft, like the soil-pipes, projectsvertically from the top of the oven, andthe outlet of said shaft is asufficient distance above or away from the house to render the latterfree from any offensive or injurious gases. This shaft may constitutethe only Ventilating appliance of the oven, the natural draft beingdepended on for drawing off the odors; but I prefer using a forceddraft, especially as it can be maintained without adding to the regularruiming expense of the closet. The preferred method of producing thisartificial or forced draft is by connecting the pipe m of a kitchenstove or range, M, with the shaft L.

From the above description it is apparent that whenever' a person uses acloset in either of the rooms B, C, or D the deposits drop directly downthe respective soil-pipes into the oven E, the cxereta and paper lodgingupon the grating F, while the urine runs through the latter and is takenup by the bed of sand, G, or other cheap absorbent. It is also apparentthat the shaft L is constantly and automatically drawing off the foulodors and gases from the oven, and also from any fecal matter that mayadhere to the soil-pipes, the latter being ventilated through the llucsK. As a result of this thorough ventilation of the oven and itsaccessories the house is at all times odorless, and the expense andannoyances incidental to the use of water or earth closets are dispensedwith. When theoven is about full, the'doors e e are opened, and a fireis then kindled beneath the grating F, for the purpose of completelyconsuming the excrements and all paper or other litter droppedtherewith. The re is kept up until these substances have been dried orconverted into a powdery mass that is perfectly odorless and can behandled without defiling a person; and when this result has beenobtainedthe re is put out and the contents ofthe oven removed withoutoccasioning any nuisance tothe occupants ofthehouse. While the lire isinprogress the various passages, H, i, J, K, and L, serve as lues orchimneys for the oven, and, as a natural result, these passages arecleaned of any deposits that may have accumulated in them.

The above is a description of my dry closet when it is built complete ina house especially adapted for it; but as the closet must frcquently beerected in old buildings some provision is necessary for Ventilating theoven from an ordinary iiue or chimney. This communi'cation of the ovenwith a flue maybe accomplished in various ways, one method being shownin Fig. 2, where the receptacle E is built up close against the iiue Land has a ventilating-passage, K, leading into the latter. Oven E hasasingle soil-pipe, N, surmounted 4by a seat, n, and hinged lid a.Furthermore, said oven has a series of nre-doors, e, at differentelevations, but no grating, the excrements being deposited directly uponthe sand bed G. When this oven is full, either or all the doors careopened and the contents of the receptacle are saturated with coal-.oilor other comparatively cheap burning-fluid, after which act the oilisignited and the excreta consumed or dried, as previously described.

misa stove-pipe that communicates with the flue L; but in some houses itis impossible 'to arrange the oven in close contact with an ordinaryflue, and in this event the expedient seen in Fig. 3 may be adopted.Here the oven Eis somewhat remote from the Ventilating-Hue L', but has apipe, K', communicating therewith, through which pipe the foul gases andvapors arev being constantly drawn off. This oven has a singlesoil-pipe, O, seat o, and hinged lid or cover o.

Fig. 4. shows one of the lateral flues K provided with a damper orregulator, l?, the diameter of which is slightly less than the diameterof the flue, in order that the latter may never be entirely closed. Thisdamper is normally closed, as indicated by the dotted lines; but whenthe contents ofthe oven are to be burned, said damper is turned down toa horizontal position, to allow the fire and smoke to traverse saidflue.

R in Fig. 1 shows a slide` or damper at the lower end of shaft L, whichslide may be closed at al1 times, except when fire is to be started inthe oven, and then it is opened.

The dotted line L in said illustration shows that the Ventilating-shaftmay extend only from the longest soil-pipe, J, thus dispensing with thatportion of the shaft between the 'oven and the upper door of the house.ventilation of `this shaft L may be effected by means of a stove, M',and pipe m in the upper room of the house..

I am aware it is not new to provide various forms o f ovens and similarreceptacles for They burning human excrements beforeremoving them from acloset or other structure. Therefore Ido not claim this feature,broadly, but limit my invention to the combination ofexcreta-receptacle, Ventilating-shaft, and one or more soil-pipes andlateral fines, as herein described.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, in a dry closet, of afire-proof eXcreta-receptacle situated at the base of the structure, aseries of independent soil-pipes, and a Ventilating-shaft communieatingtherewith, the upper end of one soilpipe being connected with theadjacent soilpipe by a lateral flue,- and the highest soilpipe having allateral flue that discharges into said Ventilating-shaft, and meansbeing provided for drying or burning the contents of said receptacle andcausing the products of combustion to traverse said pipes, iiues, andshaft, which shaft has the pipe of a cooking or heatingapparatus'leading into it, .in order that a forced draft may be inducedin the closet without employing a special appliance for the purpose, asherein described.

2. The combination, in a dry closet, of a fire-proof excreta-receptaclesituated at the base of the structure, a soil-pipe and ventilating-shaftcommunicating therewith, and a dam pered lateral iiue that connects theupper end of said pipe with said shaft, which damper l can be opened topermit the products of combustion to traverse said pipe, flue, and shaftwhen said receptacle is fired, asherein described.

3. The combination, in a dry closet, of a'. fire-proofeXcreta-receptacle, E e, soil-pipes H I J, lateral ilues K,Ventilating-shaft L, and a smoke-pipe, m, communicating with a cookingor heating apparatus, M, and serving to create a forced draft withinsaid ventilating-shaft, said receptacle being provided lOO liO

lwith means for burning or drying its contents as herein described.

4. The combination, in a dry closet, of a iireproof `eXcreta-receptaclesituated at the base of the structure, a soil-pipe and ventilating-shaftcommunicating therewith, a lateral fine connecting the upper end of saidpipe with said shaft, means for drying or burning the contents of saidreceptacle, and an absorbent bed at the bottom of said receptacle, as

herein described.

Intestimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. n

Witnesses: y LUOIAN B. ROBB.

J Aims H. LAYMAN, SAML. S. CARPENTER.

